Actor: Thank you.

The car drove around the streets several times, moving slowly all the way.

Actually, there's no need to deliberately slow down. With the traffic in Beijing's urban area, even a Ferrari can't go fast.

The main tactic is to sway left and right, making it appear as if they want to dodge or go around, thus creating a false impression.

You need to understand other people's psychology.

Walk confidently down the street, and nobody will give you a second glance, unless you're exceptionally beautiful.

But with his shifty eyes and sneaky manner, passersby have to be extra careful around him.

The more Zhang Yuan drove around in circles, the more his followers felt that... there was something wrong with this kid!
What shady things are they planning to do?
When adults come home and see children running around, they might scold them at most.

But if they sit quietly with their backs straight while doing their homework, then they're doomed; they're sure to get into big trouble.

This is called "something unusual must be going on".

After driving around for almost an hour, Zhang Yuan's vehicle finally came to a smooth stop in front of a high-end restaurant.

"Brother Long, remember to change the license plate on this car later."

"Ok."

There are many Alphard minivans in Beijing, especially the black and white ones. Once the license plate is changed, most people can't tell them apart.

Paparazzi usually track people by watching their cars and houses, because these are fixed locations, unlike celebrities who are constantly moving.

It's really hard for reporters to follow someone like Brother Qian, who earns hundreds of millions a year and still drives a silver-gray Jetta. Who would have thought that the Queen of Crosstalk is so low-key?

But you know what, Qian Ge's Jetta has a much cooler air conditioner than the Japanese cars, it's so comfortable in the summer.

Accompanied by his assistant and bodyguards, he strolled leisurely to the outside of a private room, leaving them all outside while he entered alone.

"We've known each other for a long time, but this is our first meeting."

Inside the private room sat a middle-aged man, who, judging from his attire, was probably the director he had been in contact with for several days.

"Hello, I've heard so much about you."

"The leading actress and the investor will be here shortly, please wait a moment." The director stepped forward and shook hands with him.

To be honest, this director wasn't as famous as Zhang Yuan, so the other party was very polite.

The production crew is very pragmatic; whoever is the biggest star calls the shots, and whoever pays the most money is the boss.

Director and actor are just titles; if Zhang Yuan wanted to, he could do whatever he wanted in most film crews these days.

However, he has always been quite restrained, so his reputation in the industry is still quite good.

"It's alright, let's have some tea and chat while we wait."

These private rooms are usually located by the window.

The true luxury of a house, worldwide, does not lie in the number of rooms or the amount of expensive furniture.

The essence of luxury is only about two things: space and lighting.

Good design is the fusion of light and space, and the successful combination of these two elements.

Architectural design masters such as I.M. Pei and Tadao Ando are all masters of playing with space and light.

Why are the main halls of Chinese palaces so spacious, and why are the four characters "正大光明" (upright and honorable) used as the content of the main hall's plaque?

The same applies to vehicles; if you want luxury, the space must be large enough.

Prison cells and interrogation rooms, which are deliberately designed to make people uncomfortable, must be small and dark environments.

People both at home and abroad love large courtyards because they combine the advantages of spaciousness and good lighting.

The meeting place was a luxurious private room in a restaurant, which was naturally spacious and well-lit.

Zhang Yuan walked to the window and installed a large floor-to-ceiling glass window to let in more light.

OK!

He drew the curtains wide, letting the summer sunlight of the capital city stream into the room.

It also makes it easier for people outside to see inside...

He then sat down and discussed the script with the director.

The story of "The Warring States" is made to seem very complex and grand.

The states of Wei and Qi vied for supremacy.

Sun Bin and Pang Juan were vying for supremacy.

Ultimately, it's just a romance film disguised as a Spring and Autumn Annals movie.

The female protagonist, Tian Xi, is the daughter of Tian Ji, a general of the State of Qi, the same Tian Ji who was famous for his horse racing.

Pang Juan has a younger sister, Pang Wan, who is played by Kim Hee-sun.

Both of these female characters are fictional... That alone is enough to make history buffs curse.

Then, both female leads, Tian Xi and Pang Wan, are in love with Sun Bin.

Pang Juan likes Tian Xi.

King Qi also liked Tian Xi.

King Wei, however, favored Pang Wan.

The romantic relationships alone are so complex they could fill several seasons of a Korean drama.

Anyway, Sun Bin was a heartthrob, and the two kings were the ones who suffered.

Everyone likes the male lead, so casting Zhang Yuanyan is appropriate... at least his appearance is acceptable.

But the more Zhang Yuan talked to the director, the worse he felt it was.

Zhang Yuan talked to him about the script not for communication, but to prove that he had read the script carefully and to show his sincerity.

Click!

After chatting for a long time, the door opened.

Appearing before Zhang Yuan were a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair and a young woman with big eyes.

"Hello." Zhang Yuan stood up and shook hands with the two of them.

The girl is naturally the female lead, Jing Tian.

"Yes," Zhang Yuan nodded after taking a closer look.

With fair skin and bright, sparkling eyes, she could easily be described as a school beauty.

Although her eyes looked a little vacant, her reactions showed that she was quite lively and cheerful.

Her behavior is no different from that of girls her age.

Zhang Yuan glanced at it and then looked away. He couldn't touch the food that belonged to someone else; he had to be careful.

He then began to deal with that investor.

People who are middle-aged don't actually look that old. If they have money, they naturally take better care of themselves.

The older brother was born in 69 and is now just over 40.

Aside from his slightly receding hairline, if he wore a hat to cover it up, he could easily pass for a businessman in his early 30s.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Zhang Yuan took out a small gift and handed it to each of them.

"You're welcome." The older brother glanced at the red wine he had bought for tens of thousands of yuan, but only for a moment before putting it down.

With the standard smile of a successful person, I invited him to sit down and chat.

"I know you; I've read many of your works."

"You're very famous now," Mr. Lu said in a friendly greeting.

"No, no, I'm still far behind Chenlong and Brother Li Lianjie."

Zhang Yuan's words left this person completely bewildered.

You're comparing yourself to the two strongest ones right off the bat?
Then he chuckled softly.

"Young, energetic, and ambitious, that's great."

"Director Jin told me that he would recommend you to act in our film."

"You could say that. I value this work highly, and I have high hopes for you."

"Name your conditions," he said with a wave of his hand, looking down on everyone.

It seems like investing hundreds of millions is just a drop in the ocean.

Actually, it's just...

This person is ostensibly the CEO of Starlight Brilliant Films, the company behind Jing Tian.

Actually, like Mr. Chen, he is a real estate developer.

And it's the same for real estate developers.

Besides his real estate business, Mr. Chen was also a broker for large mainland companies listing overseas.

This one is even more impressive; besides real estate, his business also extends to industries such as electronics, aviation, and machinery.

But these are still just appearances.

“President Lu.” Zhang Yuan waved his hand, “You’ve misunderstood. I’m not here to set conditions.”

"I just wanted to talk to you all in person, especially about potential future partners," Zhang Yuan said with a smile to Da Tian Tian.

"My principle is that even if a deal falls through, we can still be on good terms."

"If we can cooperate, that would be great. If we can't ultimately cooperate, we can still be friends and there will be other opportunities in the future." "Okay!" The older brother raised his hand and shook hands with him again: "I like your temperament."

“I’ve heard of you; you recently sold off your shares in Huayi.”

"So they have a problem with you, right?"

“You’re very well-informed.” Zhang Yuan nodded. “May I ask where you heard about this?”

The other party gave a name, which was the name of the woman behind the woman he owed a debt to.

Zhang Yuan secretly confirmed to himself, "Just as I suspected."

That's right.

Over the next decade, the two largest forces in the Chinese film and television industry will be the Alibaba Group, which has now merged with Huayi Brothers, namely Alibaba Pictures.

The other one is the famous Wanda Group, namely Wanda Pictures.

Behind these two forces are business consortia and military-industrial consortia.

Behind Jack Ma are a group of established domestic entrepreneurs.

Behind Wanda is a massive military-to-civilian conversion enterprise.

The largest of these is Poly Group, which invested in Bona early on.

To the average person, Poly is just a real estate developer that builds buildings.

In fact, real estate is just one of Poly's 11 major sub-sectors, and it is far from being the most important one.

The Silent Hunter is a weapon that military enthusiasts in later generations are more familiar with; it is an anti-aircraft laser weapon that is globally leading.

It was developed and manufactured by a company under Poly Group.

It is also the largest "arms transporter" in the country, responsible for the foreign trade of arms.

Now it should be clear why Mr. Lu's business extends beyond real estate to include electronics, aviation, and other fields.

I also know why Jingtian is Liu Qianqian's PRO MAX PLUS version.

Compared to this person, Mr. Chen was just a junior.

Zhang Yuan asked to meet up, just to get to know each other and have some interaction; there's no harm in it.

The competition in the film and television industry over the next decade will inevitably revolve around these two forces.

After talking to her, it turned out that Jing Tian's mind was indeed blank; she had no understanding of the script or the character.

I wouldn't say I'm a complete novice, but at most I have a superficial understanding.

"How about we add each other on QQ?"

"If you have any questions while filming in the future, we can discuss them together."

When the director heard Zhang Yuan say that, he almost broke out in a cold sweat.

You added the female lead on QQ in front of the investors?

"Let's have Mr. Lu join too. Let's start a group chat and add Director Jin as well."

“Great!” the investor readily agreed.

When doing things, one should be enthusiastic and generous. Zhang Yuanming communicated clearly and directly face to face, and there were no problems.

He had absolutely no impure thoughts towards Da Tian Tian.

Zhang Yuan wouldn't go looking for trouble for no reason.

"I will also share my understanding and suggestions about the characters and the script."

"It's easier for everyone to discuss things online."

"As for the issue of compensation you mentioned, I don't think it's a big problem," Zhang Yuan said, clasping his hands in a respectful gesture.

"I only hope that you will help me more in the future, especially when films related to me are released, I hope you can take good care of me."

"Haha, it's a small matter, everything is negotiable." The investor nodded with a smile.

This year, Wanda Cinemas' screen share has reached 15% nationwide.

In the future, Wanda, China Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group will control almost half of the big screens in the country.

If I don't maintain good relations with them, am I supposed to be like Zhang Weiping, "holding the emperor hostage to command the princes," constantly threatening cinemas and ruining the relationship?
You'll have many friends.

"That's settled then, we'll stay in touch." After talking for a few hours, Zhang Yuan took the initiative to leave.

Seeing that he was approachable and friendly, the other party wanted him to act even more.

"Okay, I'll say it again, you can name your salary."

“I know you not only act, but also invest.”

"We can all hang out together. When I make friends, I judge a person first and then their actions. I think you're a pretty good person." That's what the other person said before leaving.

Da Tian Tian was a bit dazed and confused, completely unaware of what she was there to do.

They treated it like a celebrity meet-and-greet and even asked him for an autograph.

He escorted the other person to their car before getting into his own car and leaving.

Instead of returning to the two courtyard houses, they went to a high-rise residential complex.

They rented a house specifically to cover their tracks.

Moreover, he didn't show up himself; he had someone from the company rent it for him, and there were no acquaintances' names on the contract.

Everything was done with such care.

"Next, we'll see if the other party shows up." Zhang Yuan rested his chin on his hand in the unfamiliar house, looking forward to the moment.

Around 7 p.m., a sudden cell phone ring woke him up from his meditation.

"You're on the news, go see for yourself."

"I'm too lazy to look at it. I'm always on the news, so I'll just talk about the content."

The caller was Cheng Hao, whom he had just met.

The older sister was worried that her remarks would offend the Beijing TV station, so she kept a close eye on the market developments.

There are many people who support Zhang Yuan online.

But it's not right on TV.

"You've been photographed," Cheng Hao said, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

“I’m photographed all the time, the key is who I’m photographed with.”

"A pretty girl, the news is on Beijing TV right now."

"They say you've found someone new and are two-timing me."

Zhang Yuan: You look down on me that much?
"A new love is one thing, but who is my old flame?"

"The TV station said it was Zhang Ziyi."

"Oh, that's okay."

"My tastes are quite diverse," Zhang Yuan said calmly.

It's nothing more than stirring up some news and morally damaging my reputation.

Just like dealing with Teacher Guo, since he was impeccable in his professional skills, we started to find fault with his morals.

"What, you seem quite happy?"

"And who is this girl?" the good older sister asked, pretending to be casual.

Although the photo was taken secretly and is not very clear, you can still tell that the girl is young and beautiful.

"I'm not going to talk to you. I'm going to meet with the investors. This girl is the female lead."

"They and the investors are a couple."

"Oh..." Cheng Hao was relieved; she knew Zhang Yuan wasn't a fool.

“It’s never good to ruin your reputation by spreading rumors about your relationship. Do you have a contingency plan?”

Cheng Hao remembered that he had said before that he had a solution.

"Of course, first of all, this girl has an unusual background, so we can't just make a fuss about her."

"Secondly, I have other ideas, so don't worry, this will pass soon."

"But in the end, we've offended the Imperial Television Station, which is a potential problem." Cheng Hao still didn't understand; no matter what, she had taken on this grudge.

Moreover, the other party is clearly petty and not someone to be trifled with.

There's a saying: "It's better to provoke a gentleman than a petty person."

“Yes, but the other party is not a gentleman, and neither am I.” Zhang Yuan raised his hand and called over Brother Long.

"You've been to the hospital?"

"Ah."

"Did you get the stuff?"

"Have you seen him?"

"seen."

"That's good." Relieved to receive the affirmative reply, Zhang Yuan asked his assistant to make him a bowl of instant noodles with braised beef.

"Now, all we need to do is wait..." (End of Chapter)